Gun shy? Britain blocks military hardware exports to Egypt

Egyptian army soldiers block Salah Salem highway to prevent supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi from crossing during their demonstration in Cairo, on July 19, 2013. (AFP Photo / Marwan Naamani) / AFP

The British government has revoked five Egypt-bound export licenses out of fears that the equipment could be used against protesters. Violent clashes in Egypt following the army's ouster of the country's Islamist president have left dozens dead.

The licenses include armored vehicles, like personnel carriers
and fighting infantry vehicles, machine guns, tank communication
equipment as well as vehicle-mounted radio stations and
accompanying antennas.

“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Egypt and the
events which have led to the deaths of protesters,” Vince
Cable, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and
Skills, announced in a statement. “The longstanding UK
position is clear: We will not grant export licenses where we
judge there is a clear risk the goods might be used for internal
repression.”

Vince Cable also insisted that there has been no evidence that
British equipment has been used by Egyptian authorities to crack
down on protesters. Still, British diplomats have strongly
recommended the government to revoke the licenses in light of the
general trajectory of violent escalation in Egypt.

Last Wednesday, only two days ahead the decision to stop supplies
to Egypt, British lawmakers urged the government to pay closer
attention to export contracts to prevent the procurement of arms
by authoritarian regimes. A report by Britain’s Commons Committee
on Arms Exports Controls has put a spotlight on some 134 export
licenses worth $90 million approved to Egypt, of which five have
been revoked.

The report mentions that the remaining 129 export licenses for
Egypt include deals on body armor and military helmets, assault
and sniper rifles, combat shotguns, pistols, weapon sights and
acoustic riot control devices. So far their delivery to Egypt has
not been questioned.

Committee’s chairman John Stanley told the BBC, “We were very
surprised both by the number - over 3,000 - of extant arms export
licenses going to countries which the British government has
designated as countries of serious human rights concerns," he
said. "We were also surprised by the value of those licenses,
over 12 billion pounds ($18 billion).”

According to the report the tree biggest buyers of British arms
are China, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

While London is revising its military supplies to Cairo,
Washington has not missed a beat in fulfilling previous
contracts, even though they were signed with Egypt's previous
rulers.

Senior American officials have confirmed they aren’t putting on
hold the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, in line with the
framework of an earlier agreement to send 20 such aircrafts to
the populous Arab country. Cairo already received eight of them
in January. Four more are to be supplied within the next several
weeks, and the rest are to be delivered by the end of the year.

Currently, US aid to Egypt is estimated at $1.5 billion annually,
with the bulk of the package – $1.3 billion - going to the armed
forces.

Egyptian police hard line against protesters

The human rights situation in Egypt has steadily deteriorated
since the army ousted the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi,
dividing Egyptian society between supporters and opponents
supporters of the former president. Many supporters include
members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who have demanded
Morsi’s return to power. The former president's opponents,
however, want the country to remain secular.

Egyptian police have a notorious record of using deadly force
against protesters. Their action in large part sparked the
revolution in Egypt in 2011, which saw the toppling of former
ruler Hosni Mubarak.

During a transition period in 2011, Egyptian police never
hesitated to deploy violent tactics against civilian protesters.
In one instance while dispersing a rally outside a state TV
building where the protesters consisted mostly of Coptic
Christians, the ensuing police assault left 27 protesters dead,
as armored vehicles plowed through the crowds.

During the short rule of President Morsi, police excesses were
not reigned in. In one episode in the city of Port Said, police
dispersed a large rally protesting against a court ruling, with
40 locals being killed in the process. Instead of launching an
investigation into police actions, the former president called
those protesting against the authorities ‘thugs’, praised the
police and declared a state of emergency in the country.

After President Morsi was overthrown, the revolutionary scenario
repeated itself, with thousands filling the streets to protest
the toppling of the democratically elected leader. Islamists
loyal to the former president and proponents of a secular state
supporting the country’s military rulers clashed on the streets
as police stood idly by. However, when Morsi’s supporters
gathered outside Cairo's Republic Guard Club on July 8, where it
is believed their deposed leader is being held, the ensuing
police crackdown left 51 protesters dead along with three
security force members.

No reports of disciplinary action being taken against the police
or an investigation into the deadly incident have been
forthcoming.